Matthew Brown
2025 saw the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency, and with it, a seismic shift in global affairs. As is often the case with politics, changes to domestic health policies inside the US have had a global ripple effect. Whilst governments of countries such as Argentina and Hungary look to follow in the footsteps of the US, other countries such as Myanmar suffer from the damage incurred by Trump’s aggressive stance against international health collaboration. Meanwhile, through games of international chess, pharmaceutical deals brokered by the US government look ready to leave Western healthcare systems (and most notably, our own NHS) in jeopardy. So, a month into 2026, here’s a look at the most drastic changes brought to healthcare by Trump’s White House so far.
January
Donald Trump certainly hit the ground running, with various controversial policies announced upon his return to office. In January 2025, he declared that the US was to withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO), citing “the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic”, and demands of “unfairly onerous payments from the United States” as the reasons behind the withdrawal. The WHO provides an essential service, coordinating international collaboration to improve global health responses. Recent successes of the WHO include their assistance in ending the latest Ebola Virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and their coordination of a global response to the 2022 and 2024 outbreaks of Mpox (formerly known as Monkeypox).
It then became clear that Trump’s controversial decision to leave the WHO was merely a prelude to the stark isolationist reforms that would follow. Later in the year, international trade tariffs were introduced and played to Donald Trump’s will to influence global politics, including health policy in the UK.
The direct effects of the departure of the US – the WHO’s largest financial contributors – will soon be felt by this international body, which will be faced with job cuts and financial impediment when it comes to global health policymaking and enforcement. However, what was truly harmful to the WHO was the way in which such a powerful state had undermined its ability to coordinate global health responses. The international influence of Trump’s word was demonstrated, with Argentina promptly following suit in departing from the WHO, and other governments, such as that of Hungary, showing similar disillusionment with the organisation.
February
February saw the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) as US Secretary of Health and Human Services. Whilst not necessarily a health policy in itself, this decision felt so controversial that it cannot go without mention. RFK Jr. has spread an abundance of anti-vaccination rhetoric in public, accusing vaccines of causing autism, casting doubt on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, and even suggesting that HIV originated from vaccines. Since his appointment, RFK Jr. has progressed to push through his anti-vaccine agenda into policymaking, with newborn hepatitis B vaccinations no longer becoming standard practice in the US.
The words and actions of the US Secretary of Health have reached further than the US, emboldening anti-vax figures across the world. In a recent annual Reform UK Conference, a friend of RFK delivered a scientifically unfounded speech, claiming to have found a link between vaccines and cancer within the Royal Family.
March
The beginning of spring saw no break in the momentum of controversial policies, as Trump extended his crackdown on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in early March 2025. This not only included the removal of DEI from recruitment to certain jobs, including those within the Foreign Service, but also extended to the shutting down of hundreds of DEI-related research grants worth over $2 billion in total.
Many of these cuts were directed to research relating to LGBTQ+ issues, including studies on Alzheimer’s disease, other forms of dementia, and stress in older LGBTQ+ adults. The White House claimed to be “defending women against gender ideology extremism”, and the termination letters found the projects did not meet “agency priorities” and “do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans”. Whilst actively alienating the LGBTQ+ community in the US, these cuts have additionally been accused of harming scientific progression in the medical field, with one analysis finding cancer research funds were cut by 31% from January through March. As a well-established global hub for biomedical research, cuts made in the US will inevitably stagnate global cancer research in upcoming years.
July
America’s Independence Day saw the passing of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. Advertised by the US government for including various tax cuts. Another key provision included in this act was a large cut (almost £0.7 trillion) to federal spending for Medicaid, a governmental program providing free or discounted healthcare to millions of US citizens. These cuts will have devastating effects on those most deprived within the US population, and one institution has already estimated that they could result in an increase of over 40,000 premature deaths annually.
The extent of healthcare-related cuts in July was not purely domestic: 2 July additionally marked the official closing of the US Agency of International Development (USAID), an organisation which formerly served as the world’s largest governmental provider of international aid. Cuts to USAID have already impaired healthcare operations in countries such as Myanmar and Malawi in 2025, which have seen food rations cut, health care services removed, pregnancy checks stopped, vaccinations withdrawn, and TB tests lost. A study further found that these cuts could result in 14 million deaths, including those of more than 4.5 million children, by 2030.
September
In terms of knock-on effects on our own NHS, September marked the most momentous month yet regarding changes to the US healthcare system. This change was the agreement of a “landmark agreement” between Pfizer and the US government, in which Pfizer voluntarily agreed to slash drug prices to the US by up to 85%, with an average drug price reduction of 50%. This was yet another example of Trump using the notoriety of US tariffs to force international corporation, and governmental bodies to do his bidding.
Trump’s brandishing of tariffs, however, did not stop there. In fear of US tariffs on UK drug exports, as well as pressure applied by pharmaceutical companies, the UK government agreed to pick up the slack left behind by Pfizer’s price slash for the US. As of 2026, the price threshold at which the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) deems drugs to be affordable will increase by 25%. These changes are estimated to cost the NHS an additional £3 billion per year, whilst bringing little overall clinical benefit to the population. Additionally, the rebate that pharmaceutical companies must pay to the NHS will be cut from 23.5% to 15% over the next three years, which will further reduce NHS budgets. This deal may only mark the beginning of an onslaught that Trump could bring onto international health systems to further his own interests.
Looking Ahead in 2026
Over the last year, the Trump-RFK Jr. dynamic duo has shaken both US and international public health, severing ties to numerous domestic and international health organisations, whilst using their massive economic and political reach to influence domestic policies around the world.
We are already seeing the effects of RFK Jr.’s anti-vax sentiment, as measles cases in the US reach the highest levels in 30 years. It would be unsurprising if the UK soon followed suit, particularly if Reform UK continues to give anti-vax speakers the stage to reach potentially millions of followers.
Looking further into 2026, troubling health-related headlines have already emerged. Recently, Palantir has been exposed for using US health records to help ICE, providing accurate locations of those listed for deportation. With the NHS having signed a £330 million contract with Palantir back in 2023 to “connect vital health information across the NHS”, fears are growing about the access this tech giant will have to confidential patient information in the UK.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical deals and the dismissal of USAID have placed a great deal of financial burden on international health systems. In 2026 and beyond, we may continue to see Trump playing international politics to further the US health system at the expense of others.